HC Deb 14 March 1967 vol 743 cc213-4
30. Sir E. Errington

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government how many rent assessment committees have sat in each area from establishment to 31st January, 1967; how many appeals have been dealt with, respectively; and how many appeals were outstanding in each area at the same date.

Mr. MacColl

Rent assessment committees had decided 1,788 cases up to 28th January and there were 1,652 cases outstanding. I will, with permission, circulate the figures for each panel area in the OFFICIAL REPORT. I have no separate figures for the number of sittings, but the general practice is that two cases are dealt with at a sitting except where, for instance, a block of flats is involved.

Sir E. Errington

Does not the hon. Member appreciate that some of these rent assessment committees are doing too much work and others too little? If he is prepared to make a change, will he do so not by changing the areas but by ensuring that the panels look after a number of areas?

Mr. MacColl

My right hon. Friend has said that he is always watching to see how the work can best be reshuffled.

Mr. Lipton

Will my hon. Friend consider the astonishing time lag between the submisison of appeals to rent assessment committees and the hearing of those appeals, especially in the London area? What is he doing to speed up progress?

Mr. MacColl

I am keeping the situation carefully under review.

Following are the figures:

APPLICATIONS FOR REGISTRATION OF FAIR RENT REFERRED TO RENT ASSESSMENT COMMITTEES UP TO 31ST JANUARY, 1967.
Rent Assessment Panel Area Applications referred Cases decided Outstanding 31.1.67 at
London 2,288 869 1,419
Northern 137 79 58
Yorkshire 119 117 2
Manchester 119 111 8
Liverpool 70 55 15
West Midland 165 152 13
East Midland 67 47 20
Eastern 83 46 37
Luton 54 42 12
Thames Valley 42 36 6
Bristol 48 38 10
Devon and Cornwall 64 56 8
Southern 42 31 11
Surrey and Sussex 91 68 23
Kent 51 41 10
3,440 1,788 1,652

Forward to